"Her mother left her when she was young and remarried a rich man and disappeared from her life completely." William paused, letting the words sink in like stones dropping into deep water. "Her father died when she was six. Leaving her alone with her abusive uncle."

Miss J’s hand trembled. Her teacup rattled against the saucer. A small crack appeared in her carefully constructed composure.

"She grew up in a house full of fear," William continued, his voice growing harder. "She was neglected. Overworked. Treated like a servant. She had no one to protect her, no one to care for her, no one to tell her she was loved."

Miss J’s eyes were wet now. Her lips pressed together to keep from trembling.

"She learned to survive on her own," William said. "She learned to hide her pain. She learned to smile even when she was breaking inside."

He paused, his eyes boring into hers.

"Then she married Leonardo Moretti."

Miss J’s breath caught. Her heart clenched.

"He saved her," William said. "He gave her a home, a family, and a future. But the scars of her past are still there. She still carries them. She still hurts."

He looked at Miss J, his gaze softening.

"I noticed my Bella likes you," he said. "You’re like a motherly figure to her. She trusts you. She opens up to you. She seeks you out."

Miss J lowered her lashes to hide her emotions. Her hands were clasped tightly in her lap, her knuckles white.

"I am not getting any younger," William said. "I don’t know how much time I have left but I hope, I hope you can take care of my Bella when she needs someone. When I’m gone."

He stood up, his joints creaking slightly.

He left the cafe.

His eyes flashed with cunningness.

He had said what he needed to say. He had planted the seed. He had shown her the pain Bella had endured, the wounds that still needed healing. He had given her a glimpse of the daughter she had abandoned, the child who had grown up without her.

Now it was up to Miss J.

Would she step forward? Would she claim her daughter? Would she be the mother Bella had never had?

He didn’t want to directly tell her that she was Bella’s mother because he wanted to see what efforts she could put for Bella. He wanted to see if she would come forward on her own, if she would fight for her daughter, if she would prove herself worthy of Bella’s trust.

He walked out of the cafe. The afternoon sun was warm on his face, but his heart was cold.

He had done his part. Now he would wait.

Meanwhile, Miss J sat alone in the quiet cafe, her hands trembling. The words William had spoken echoed in her mind, each one landing like a stone in the depths of her heart. Bella had suffered. Bella had been alone. Bella had grown up without a mother.

And that mother was her.

Tears finally dropped on her cheeks. She didn’t wipe them away. She let them fall.

Her mind drifted back. Back to a time she had tried so hard to forget. Back to the years when she was young and foolish and full of love for a man who would never love her back.

Didn’t Jude and Jessica love each other?

Yes. They had. Deeply, completely with a love that seemed to fill the entire world. Jocelyn had watched them from the sidelines, her heart aching, her feelings hidden. She had been Jude’s friend from college, the girl who sat next to him in lectures, who shared her notes, who laughed at his jokes. She had loved him silently, hopelessly, for years.

Then he met Jessica and everything changed.

Jocelyn had been happy for them. She had tried to be happy. She had stood beside them at their wedding, smiling, congratulating them, burying her own feelings deep inside where no one could find them.

When they started looking for a surrogate, she had volunteered. It was a foolish decision, driven by a desperate need to be close to Jude, to be part of his life in some small way. She had told herself she was doing it to help them. To ease their pain. To bring them the child they so desperately wanted.

Jude had refused at first. He knew about her feelings. He didn’t want to take advantage of her kindness and her love but Jocelyn had insisted, and eventually, he had relented.

The pregnancy had been difficult. Her body had struggled, and she had spent months in and out of hospitals, exhausted and sick. Jude had taken care of her, had visited her, had held her hand during the worst moments but he wasn’t always there. He had his own life, his own wife, his own worries. And Jocelyn had realized, slowly and painfully, how stupid she had been.

Jessica had told her she wasn’t interested in giving her sperm sample, so she thought she was afraid because she wasn’t able to convince her through this way. She never thought it was because...

After she gave birth, she left. She couldn’t stay. She couldn’t be near the baby she had carried, the baby she had grown to love, the baby that would never be hers.

But she remembered.

She remembered the day the nurse had brought the baby to her.

"Aww, your baby is so cute!" the nurse had said, her voice bright and warm.

Jocelyn had looked down at the tiny bundle in her arms. The baby had very light hair, almost white, soft and downy. Her eyes were a light brown, still unfocused, blinking up at the world with sleepy curiosity. Her cheeks were round and chubby, so soft that Jocelyn had been afraid to touch them.

She had fallen in love instantly and Irrevocably.

That baby was Bella.

Her daughter.

Her heart had melted at the sight of that chubby face, those tiny fingers, that perfect little nose. She had held her for hours, rocking her, humming to her, memorizing every detail.

Then she had left.

Now, sitting in the quiet cafe, the tears still streaming down her cheeks, Jocelyn realized what she had given up.

She saw kindness in everyone, so she didn’t notice how unhappy Jessica was with Jude. She didn’t see the cracks in their marriage, the distance that had grown between them. She had been so focused on her own pain, her own heartbreak, that she had missed the signs.

After leaving the baby, she didn’t even check on her. She didn’t even pick up Jude’s calls. She had changed her number, moved away, tried to erase the past from her memory.

It was the stupidest decision she had ever made.

And Jude wasn’t in this world anymore. That was another blow to her. She had thought he was alive and happy with his daughter and Jessica. She had imagined them as a perfect family, laughing together, loving each other. She had never imagined that Jude would die young, that Bella would be left alone, that everything would fall apart.